New VR Technology to Transform Yachting, Shipping Industries

The global yachting and shipping industries are
queuing up to adopt the very latest in immersive virtual reality
visualization, mapping and design technology developed at The
Landing, MediaCityUK.

VR solutions designed specifically for the yachting industry, as
well as for the merchant shipping sector, have been developed by
Sam Slater and Richard Hooson, from Manchester, the flagship
being their ground breaking Digital Twin application which is set
to revolutionize the marine industry.

The pair left their former careers in 2014 and joined forces to
create impressive VR experiences for a range of industries. They
formed Virtualize 360, or V360, and based themselves at
MediaCityUK's tech hub and co-working space, The Landing, to make
sure they had access to specialist start-up support,
international contacts and a prestigious MediaCityUK address.

Slater was formerly a project manager and consultant in the
nuclear sector, while Hooson was a leading VR specialist and so
they first set its sights on using VR technology to develop
training modules for the nuclear and oil industries.

They later developed a version of their product for the property
market which made virtual reality visualization and architectural
design accessible to high end clients who wanted to experience
their property in VR before making it a reality. The business was
a great success and they began to consider expanding the
technology into other industries.

In 2017, a friend of theirs, Greg Beach, who is chief engineer on
one of the most technologically advanced mega yachts in the
world, the 101 meter I Dynasty, suggested they look at the marine
sector as a market in desperate need for their applications. The
pair then spent six months exploring the market with Beach and
researching the industry before developing a strategy and,
eventually, a working demo for the yachting industry.

In April last year, V360 Marine was born with Beach coming on
board as a specialist industry adviser and they launched their
new digital product in Palma de Mallorca on the very superyacht
they used as the subject of their Digital Twin demonstrator. Some
of the biggest yachting businesses were there and word began to
spread.

Since then, V360 Marine has brought together its experience in
developing VR training modules with its work in the marine sector
and has developed VR training modules for the merchant shipping
industry, such as oil and gas and a dedicated division of the
V360 group, V360 Training is not far away to manage the huge
demand found in this sector.

This latest technology has been designed to support the changing
culture within the shipping industry by making sea travel safer
and minimizing the number of incidents caused by human error.
Modules such as hazard awareness, how to operate safely in
confined spaces and emergency response have been specifically
designed to reduce the number of deaths, accidents and near
misses at sea.

The founders of Virtualize 360 agree that the business
development opportunities, invaluable support network and access
to international markets offered by The Landing has been crucial
to their success. Since they moved in to The Landing, Slater and
Hooson have completed The Landing's incubator course and attended
workshops, funded by the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF), and have taken advantage of the wide range of
opportunities offered in order to drive the growth of their
business.